Treaty transferring territory between the United States and Soviet occupation zones of Germany after World War II
The Wanfried Agreement was the only post-WWII inner-German border exchange with full treaty status equal to the Potsdam Agreement, resolving a rail disruption between U.S. occupation zones.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- September 17, 1945
- Soviet villages transferred to U.S. zone
- Neuseesen and Werleshausen (560 people, 8.45 km²)
- U.S. villages transferred to Soviet zone
- Asbach-Sickenberg, Vatterode, Weidenbach/Hennigerode (429 people, 7.61 km²)
- Railway line affected
- Bebra–Göttingen line, crossing ~3 km of Soviet zone
- U.S. signatory
- Brigadier General William T. Sexton
- Soviet signatory
- Major General Vasily S. Askalepov
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
After the main inner-German border was drawn in late July 1945, the Bebra–Göttingen railway line—critical to U.S. logistics linking southern Germany to the Bremerhaven exclave—crossed approximately 3 km of Soviet-occupied territory near Neuseesen and Werleshausen, causing repeated traffic disruptions.
On September 17, 1945, American and Soviet military authorities signed the Wanfried Agreement in the town of Wanfried, exchanging small parcels of territory in Hesse to straighten the occupation zone border. Two Eichsfeld villages moved to the U.S. zone while three Hessian villages were transferred to the Soviet zone, with the signing officers exchanging flasks of whisky and vodka.
The railway line's uninterrupted operation was restored and henceforth nicknamed the Whisky-Wodka-Linie. The agreement remained unique among all inner-German border adjustments as the only one holding full treaty status on par with the Potsdam Agreement, setting a legal precedent for bilateral occupation-zone boundary modifications.
Political Outcome
Border adjusted to remove Soviet zone encroachment on U.S. railway line; two villages transferred to U.S. zone, three to Soviet zone.
Bebra–Göttingen railway crossed Soviet-occupied territory, disrupting U.S. logistics
Border redrawn to place the full railway line within the U.S. occupation zone